'I WANTED TO LEAVE THE FILM INDUSTRY'

Manoj Bajpayee speaks about striking a balance between mainstream and indie, his latest film, Jugnuma, and reuniting with Ram Gopal Varma

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completely oblivious to or reluctant to learn about. They should not be. When you are making a film, you should know how to take it to the people. The only filmmaker who can do that is Anurag Kashyap, and that is why he could make a difference. He didn't fall for that mainstream world, but he learnt from them and made an effort to understand the market.

Anurag, I feel, is a good blend. An arthouse guy who has grown up on the big screen, mass cinema.... (laughs) Yeah. Actually, all of us are cinephiles who started with Amitabh Bachchan and ended with Naseeruddin Shah.

Talk to me about Jugnuma, it might be the most stunning film I have seen in a long time... It's because we shot it on 16mm film, which gives it this nice, grainy, nostalgic look. Raam Reddy is a passionate filmmaker. I was so looking forward to shooting this film because when I read the script, I was in the same state of mind as my protagonist is in the film. The seeking, the questions, they were all the same.